Vincent, François, Paul... et les autres

I would define this movie as an example of a job well done of France's 1970's cinema. The cast is excellent and, as I may already have said in other comments, Sautet's direction acts a magic wand in his works. A little bit like "Je Vous Aime" with Catherine Deneuve and Jean Louis Trintignant, Vincent, Francois, Paul...et les autres shows the "after life" of certain characters trying to cope with their sentimental failures and mix-ups, except the fact that in this movie not everyone is an ex-husband of one of the female stars.

This certainly isn't as dramatic as Sautet's "Les Choses de la Vie" but there is just as much of a bitter final after taste, although everyone is alive at the end. Sautet has thus far left me with a "punch in the stomach feeling after seeing several of his movies. Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud for instance is another one of his unresolved romantic story, where no one knows at the end whose feelings were hurt.

Albeit its solemn Sautenesque tones with regards to love, Vincent, Francois, Paul...et les autres keeps its focus on a bizarre yet strong friendship among several men, preventing their unsolved love relationships to tamper with its strong lesson on the fact that, often times, friends last longer than partners.

French filmmaker Claude Sautet has been hailed as an important sociologist in the history of French cinema. Most of his films are about French middle class where he has painted it in its true colors. 'Vincent, François,Paul and the others' is an important film in his productive career. It combines elements of gaiety with those of midlife crisis. The overall tone of the film is light with occasional moments of problems which upset the well being of the protagonists. Much of the screen space is shared by these protagonists finding a solution to their personal problems which include problems related to money which has direct bearings on health, decision to participate in a boxing match against a tough rival or how to deal with their women. As these emotions are shown from a purely masculine perspective, presence of women characters has not been strongly developed. Actors Yves Montand, Michel Piccoli, Serge Reggiani and Gérard Depardieu add extra life in their roles are troubled individuals who are not at all afraid to reveal their true feelings. As their anger and frustrations are revealed with a bang, it would not be an understatement to say that they can be found in other places too albeit with somewhat different traits. Lastly, it is important to watch the manner in which everybody understand that solutions have to be found as life needs to be continued at all costs.

The first thing that is blindingly obvious is the cast. What a cast! Montant, Piccoli, Reggiani and Depardieu in the same movie, each one with a main role - Montant being the central part like, I would dare to compare, Sinatra in the Rat Pack. A true ensemble movie. Sautet manages perfectly to direct them and the play is brilliant - also by the actress, who plays support characters, but no minor ones, as the feminine characters are all strong and independent, far from your average housewife.

The movie, with this universal themes: friendship and middle life crisis, sounds still contemporary. I think the fact Sautet chooses to show modern women helps a lot. Sautet tells the twist and turn of a 3 long-standing friends, in their fifties, and their group of friends, and through that the evolution of their relationship in this microcosm but also to their own evolution, to what they were and what they were dreaming, standing for when they were young. He manages to do so and delivers a movie full of sincerity, showing good and bad, up and down.

A great movie, still today.

I can't believe there are no comments at all on this. I realize as well as anyone that art house movies are low on the totem pole at a site such as this where, not unnaturally nor, if it comes to that, unreasonably, mainstream fodder is the order of the day but I have seen sufficient comments, both favorable and otherwise, for French movies to know that there are people out there who both watch, enjoy and comment. Sautet himself has been well served via such titles as 'Cesar et Rosalie', 'Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud' etc to make this omission all the more inexplicable. However if someone has to start it may as well be someone who actually enjoyed, if not revelled in yet another restrained masterpiece. Once again the old creative team of Sautet and Dabadie provide a solid base for the actors to excel. Montand is, of course, superb. Thorough as ever he did in-depth research on heart attacks and when it came time to simulate one he scared the bejesus out of cast and crew who, to a man, thought he had really suffered a stroke. Non-French viewers will perhaps be unaware of any secondary meanings - it was made at a time when France was experiencing social upheaval and reflected this in the storyline - but, as with all the best messages, it is not necessary to be hip to social conditions to enjoy superb performances and great storytelling. Sautet is one of a handful of directors who seldom, if ever, make a bad, dull or uninteresting movie and this belongs with his best.

I came across this film at the New York Public Library and was intrigued enough by the cast to give it a try. I was not disappointed. 'Vincent, François, Paul... et les autres' could serve as a textbook example of great writing and great acting. The characters are so strongly developed, full of the genuine complexities and contradictions that mark us as human beings. It's refreshing to find a film that is able to achieve this kind of emotional depth. All of the actors do great work, but Montand pretty much steals the show as "Vincent." Full of bluster and sly humor, you see his sadness and vulnerability come out over the course of the film, as several crises come together and almost crush him. In one powerful sequence, we watch and suffer with him as he spends a long, terrible night trying to get help from various friends to keep his business afloat, only to realize how alone he is in the world. I've seen Montand in several films now, and this one may contain his best work of all, as he shows such tremendous range as an actor.

Piccoli also does well as "François," an intelligent and successful doctor who's grown cold over the years and whose frustration and anger build up inside him until he finally loses it at dinner one evening. Serge Reggiani, who I wasn't familiar with, does a great job as "Paul," a writer who can't finish his novel. One of the most intense, emotionally-charged moments in the film (and there are many) is a devastating exchange between Reggiani and Piccoli about "Paul's" unfinished book. Ouch - painful stuff. And a buff, baby-faced Depardieu shows early screen presence and talent as "Jean," an amateur boxer who has gotten his girlfriend pregnant and must decide whether or not to accept a match against a brutal professional fighter who seriously injured another amateur boxer. This sub-plot has an interesting twist and is handled well, as is the father-son type relationship between Montand and Depardieu.

My one complaint is that the women in the film, who all seem beautiful and intelligent and interesting, aren't nearly as well-developed as the male characters, but, then, it is called 'Vincent, François, Paul...' not 'Catherine, Lucie, Julia...' For those folks who don't have patience with "slow-moving films," this one probably isn't for you. The plot is interesting and there are moments of subtle humor that keep the film from becoming too heavy with drama, but it may not be for everyone. An excellent work.